When a handshake deal is (and isn’t) enforceable

A handshake is a beginning. It is rarely the contract. North Carolina still enforces some oral agreements — services that can be finished within a year, a sale of goods under the UCC threshold, a promise a court is willing to call promissory estoppel. It does not enforce an oral deal for land.

What the statute of frauds actually says

A contract for the sale of real property must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged. So must a lease of more than three years, and an agreement that cannot be performed within one year. “We agreed on the price in the parking lot” is not a closing document.

When an email is enough

A thread that names the parties, the property, the price and the closing date, and that ends with “agreed,” can be a writing. A text that says “sounds good” usually is not. If you want the deal, put it on one page and sign it.

What we tell clients

If the other side is honourable, a handshake will hold until Monday. If you are not sure, write the term sheet before you leave the room. We can turn a parking-lot agreement into a letter of intent in a day. That is cheaper than proving what was said.